SPARKS, Nev. (AP) — Hundreds of union construction
workers walked off the job at Tesla Motors' battery manufacturing plant in
northern Nevada on Monday to protest what union organizers say is the increased
hiring of out-of-state workers for less pay.
Approximately 350 plumbers, carpenters, electricians,
painters and others walked away from the construction site Monday along U.S.
Interstate 80 about 25 miles east of Reno, said Russell James, District 16
business development specialist for the Building and Construction Trades
Council of Northern Nevada.
More than 100 picketed outside the main gate against what
they say is an unfair labor practice that undermines promises to hire mostly
Nevada workers in exchange for more than $1 billion in state tax breaks, James
said.
"It's corporate welfare at its worst," he told
The Associated Press.
Union officials said work at Tesla's gigafactory is
increasingly being done by crews for the non-union, New Mexico-based Brycon
Corp.
"Nevada's tax dollars should be used to provide jobs
for Nevada construction workers, not New Mexico construction workers,"
said Ted Koch, president of the northern Nevada council.
Tesla said in a statement that the electric car-maker is
in compliance with all state requirements. It said many of the contractors at
the site are union, but "the one at issue is not."
"The union is ... claiming that this contractor is
somehow favoring out of state workers. In reality, more than 50 percent of the
workers used by this contractor and more than 75 percent of the entire
gigafactory workforce are Nevada residents, demonstrating the project's strong
commitment to Nevada," the company statement said.
The Governor's Office of Economic Development said Monday
that an outside audit released in December for fiscal year 2015 showed Tesla
was in compliance with state law requiring the company "employ a minimum
of 50% Nevadans on the site of the Gigafactory."
"That audit showed that 68% of construction workers
were Nevadans. Tesla reported that Nevadans comprised 74% of construction
workers during the 4th quarter of 2015. Tesla has exceeded, and continues to
exceed, the requirement to hire Nevadans," said Jennifer Cooper, the
office's communications director.
The incentive package allows in some cases for Tesla to
hire more out-of-state workers if not enough skilled workers are available in
Nevada. But James insisted that's not the case.
"They say it's because there are not enough workers
in state to fill the jobs, but we have all kinds of workers available. They
simply are going out of state because they can pay them less money," James
said Monday. "Most of the guys from out of state probably have no health
insurance and no pension benefits, so that alone could be a difference of $10
an hour even if you pay the same wages."
Phil Casaus, Brycon's chief financial officer, said
Monday his company is in "full compliance with the 50 percent Nevada
residency requirement." He said they are paying "fair wages" at
all skill levels with a "very robust" benefits package. He said he
could not provide specifics or estimate the number of workers they have
assigned to the Nevada site.
"Under our agreement with Tesla, we are very limited
as to what we can share about the project or our scope of work," he told
The Associated Press from Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
James said union leaders haven't decided whether to file
a formal complaint with the state or the U.S. Labor Department, and wasn't sure
if workers would return to their jobs on Tuesday.
"At this point, we don't know exactly what is going
to happen," he said. "It would depend on their action. If Tesla
chooses to be a good steward with Nevada taxpayer money going forward, we could
probably come to terms with that. If they choose not to do that, I don't
know."
Source: NJ Herald
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